Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-09-14

one evening. My dear mother has high
spirit; and when she came in comparing
her son-the fiddle scraping son-with his
late father, Sir Godfrey Campion, and
when that son declared that the compari-
son was not fair, and one thing led to an
other, why-there is nothing strange in
the fact that the son resolved to take his
fiddle into the country for awhile. That
is how came here"
eyes," said, trying, in my ignorant,
country way to realize what all this meant
the lord mayor, knighthood and the
rest.
"W'as your father MI admjrall' I asked
at length. He stared for a moment and
then burst out laughing. OF course he
always laughed ut everything. Years
afterward l asked him how it was he did
not lose patience with so much ignorance.
"Lose patience?' he asked, in his silly,
delightful way, ut all helped to make ME
love you the more madly."
Now, it was not such very great ignor-
ance after all, because I had heard Of
admirals who were knighted. 1t was
natural for ME to think that all men who
were culled sir were admirals.
There Is one thing which no woman can
ever understand-what it is in her, and
her alone, that makes q man fall down
and worship her. I was the most simple
and ignorant Of country girls and he was
a gentleman. Yet he risked the happi-
ness of his whole life on the chance that
should become what he imagined me to be
already. My heart sinks still with sort
of humiliation to think how unworthy OF
that true and loyal gentleman I was.
You will see presently of what things
was capable.
We went home ut length, hand in hand,
across the fields. Will said nothing to
Dan, and we had our tea just as usual,
only that was silent.
In the evening Will went out, accom-
panied by the two boys. I had quite for
gotten about Joshua and wondered little
at his leaving me.
It was dark when they came back.
Will had his left hand tied round with
pocket handkerchief, his right eye was
black and he had got cash across his
cheek He had been fighting Joshua
Mech, and he had left, as afterward
learned, that hero senseless on the
ground.
Jcphthah-or was it Job?-announced
the battle and its results. "He be give
Joshua a drubbing," he said, with
cheerful chuckle.
Now, no one in that house bore Joshua
any grudge, and yet at the news we all
congratulated ourselves and the victor. I
am almost ashamed now to think that Will
was more glorious in my eyes than ever.
There could be no fddling that evening,
and Dan had q double ration of brandy
punch.
A fight in those days was O. mere episode
in nuns life. 1t might occur ut any
moment Everybody fought, and gen.
tleman learned boxing as part of his
education.
But was anxious that there should be
no bad blood, and the next day went
over to the mill to see Joshua.
His face was good deal more battered
than Wills. It was evident that he had
taken punishment manfully. He asked
me to go into his own room for talk.
1T is your politeness, I suppose" be-
gan, "that makes you fight strange gen.
tleman?"
"What's flght9" he replied. "That's
nothing neither to him nor to me. He's
we'll plucked one, he is, as ever handled a
pair of fists. Which makes it worse"
what is worse, Joshua?"
"Now, no more fooing, Pleasance.
You listen to me. No good comes Of
young gentlemen dangling with young
girls. Besides, won't have it. He's got
to CO."
"You won't have it?''
70 "%he said, banging his hand on the
table. II won't have it. Therel You've
got to be my wife"
give got-to-be-your wife?'
"Of course you have. I've told Dan
long ago. Why, I've been saving up for
it these ten years. Next Easter Sunday
mean to marry YOU"
only stared.
Don't think, Pleasance, that a man
can't love girl because he hasn't got his
mouth stuffed with fine words. Carl it
makes one sick to think of 1t. I've
loved you since you were child. And he
shall CO."
"He shall not 60, joshua" I said.
"And will never, never marry you. Re-
member that
"He shall CO." he said firmly. "One
way or the other, he shall 90. Don't
make INC desperate, Pleasance. He shall
60. Now you know what to expect, be-
have accordingly"
sprang to my feet and rushed out Of
the cottage The mans set lips and steady
eyes frightened me.
1 told Will; but he laughed at my fears.
What was Joshua to him? At the most,
there could only be another fight.
Joshua came no more to the farm, and
I did not see him again till the trouble
came upon Inc and mine.
al 0nf
time, when every day brought some new
happiness and some fresh brightness with
it, and come to the story of that trouble.
1t was partly my own fault.
One day-we had been sailing to Lad
ram bay and back in the little boat; we
had just beached her, and were sitting on
the pebbles hand in hand.
'Whut does Dan do" asked Will, with
two boats:'
1.-THE Chace Mary is the fishing boat"
replied; ''the Dancing Polly is for the
runs to France"
''The whatT cried Will.
"The runs over for the brandy, you
know. Why she is the fastest boat that
ever crossed the channel
Will listened with q bewildered face.
Presently he laughed.
$50 Dan is u smuggler, is he? Crafty
old mann'
"Why," l said, with pride, Everybody
knows that Dan is the boldest smuggler
along the coast. They've given up trying
to catch him now"
"Oh And Job and Jephthah?"
"They CO. too, of course"
"And-and the jealous amoroso, Don
Joshua, does he 60, too?"
Eyes, he goes, too. They all four CO."
Will whistled.
"Shade of my sainted father" he said,
"was it for this that you brought your
son up in pious hatred to the illicit traffic
which intcrfcred with your own gains?"
did not understand one word of what
he said.
81 will explain" he said. "My father
made his fortune and mine chiefly by
rum. Rum is rival to brandy. Great
numbers of the happy children of Ham
who, us my mother believes, are by di-
vine ordinance subject to the children of
Japhet-toil in Jamaica for the house Of
Campion g. Co. We provide the British
public with red roses, speckled noses,
bottle noses, gout and chalk stones in the
hands That is our work in the world.
We fog slaves in order that Britons may
get drunk on health giving rum. And
we pay duty. What are we to think or a
man who runs over brandy, which may
be sold cheaper than rum, and is more
wholesome? How do you think l have
been trained to regard such man? And